Chapter 14
Although his mind was churning with thoughts about the clandestine meeting later that night, he still managed to focus enough of his attention on Shane during dinner that she didn't suspect something major was brewing.
Clay walked her back to her apartment and kissed her good night at her door before leaving to meet Chegwidden. As he grabbed a cab, his thought dwelt briefly on tomorrow night. Shane had offered to cook for him at her place and if all went well tonight with the meeting, maybe he would no longer need to remain under cover!
He could tell her the truth! Confess that he was in love with her and if she felt the same way then they could go back to the States together! Clay wasn't quite sure how his mother would react to this however. She had been glad when he and Sarah Mackenzie had broken up because she admitted at the time she'd thought Sarah was too strong for him. Porter's opinion was that he needed a strong woman at his side who could withstand the rigors of loving a man with his job. Sarah, she'd told him wasn't the supportive type. She was much more likely to be out there facing danger herself.
So, with that in mind, Clay thought that maybe she would approve of Shane after all!
Chegwidden was waiting outside of Clay's rented apartment when he got home. He looked up from his watch as Clay came down the hall.
"Don't give me that look! You're early!"
"It's only one minute till," AJ taunted.
"And you've probably been here five," Clay growled.
"Ten," AJ stated.
Rolling his eyes, Clay unlocked the door and let them both inside. Putting on a pot of coffee he told AJ, "I went by the building after work and got the layout." As the coffee brewed he drew out the warehouse and parking lot next to it.
"So there are three entry/exit points. We'll have trouble watching from the outside," AJ surmised.
"Doesn't matter, if we don't get close enough to hear what is said, and find out who the leak is, this will be a wasted trip."
"Then we'll need to be there before the meet to find good cover spots."
"My thoughts too," Clay told him.
They left the apartment in plenty of time to get to the site before the principles would arrive. Choosing the best place they could find, Clay and AJ settled down to wait for the appointed hour. They had found reasonably good cover behind some crates in the warehouse and remained close enough to each other that they could talk quietly until AJ held up his hand to indicate silence. He had heard something. It looked like the time was upon them.
Looking down at his watch, that he kept carefully shielded with his body because when a button was pushed the face lit up so it could be seen even in total darkness, AJ saw that Kirill Tarasov and the three men with him were thirty minutes early.
Tarasov moved to the small open space in the center of the room and after a quick look around pointed to two different places he wanted one of his men stationed at. It looked like he was setting up a crossfire situation. Only the man carrying the silver metal briefcase remained at his side. Both men turned their backs on the spot where AJ and Clay were concealed to face the door to watch and wait.
AJ's hyper alert senses were what allowed him to pick up the scent of 'outdoors' just as he had when Tarasov and his men and come in. Since the door they were watching hadn't opened, AJ quickly scanned the area for where it could be coming from. On the second floor balcony, almost directly above where one of Tarasov's men was hidden, he spotted a shadowy figure climbing in through a window.
Gesturing to direct Clay's attention to what was going on, AJ got a nod of acknowledgement.
Five minutes later the door opened and a man came in that made Clay start in surprise.
To be continued…